Last Day in the Exumas

We are done with the Exumas.
How did we spend our last day?
We began with an early departure with the crew from Dharma and Debbie from Illusion to dinghy up the creek at Shroud Cay. If you have ever seen The Jungle Queen, you can relate. The meandering creek was a hundred feet wide in most places with a shoreline of mangrove swamp. After we had entered, we were able to turn off the outboard engine and drift along with the current. Our own lazy river! The kids hopped in and out of the boats, sometimes swimming, sometimes taking their snorkels, and other times just floating along with us. We saw the biggest concentration and variety yet of birds in the Bahamas. At the end of the river, we were rewarded with it's outflow to the ocean, which had a great current that offered a flume ride to those who wished to swim it! Talk about a natural waterpark!

Back at the big boats, we had to sadly say goodbye to Dharma. They are headed to Nassau to meet up with friends there, we are headed due north tomorrow to Eleuthera, then on to the Abacos islands. Though we are hopeful that our paths will cross again, our timelines do not make that likely.

Onward we went...heading originally for Allen's Cay, and then making good time, and seeing how busy Allen's anchorage was, we opted to carry on a few more miles and set the anchor down just off Ship Channel Cay. Having spent over a week in the park, Greg was eager to get out and spear some lion fish, hoping to find enough for dinner. Out we went in the dinghy, opting to row to the nearby coral heads to see what we could find. With mixed emotions he quickly found the population of lion fish quite depleted. No fresh fish dinner for us, but glad to see that these intruders are not gobbling up baby reef fish here. We did however, happen across the most beautiful reef we have seen yet. The variety of fish was astonishing, no algae growth on the reef, and the clarity of the water was incredible. We all snorkeled for about an hour before the chill finally set in and forced us to retreat back to a warm shower.
A truly great way to leave this island chain, with fond memories of the people we have shared our time with and places we have enjoyed.